What Happened in Crypto This Week: The Vanguard Effect and Interest Rate Cut Expectations

In the week before the final interest rate decision of the year, several key developments helped shape investor sentiment as 2025 enters its final round.

Crypto markets reflected the broader financial turmoil, with Bitcoin testing resistance levels and regulatory and institutional actions underscoring both the sector’s growing maturity and ongoing vulnerabilities. From ETF inflows to new regulatory enforcement action, the headlines kept traders on edge and set the tone for a volatile end to the year.

Institutional movements of the week

Texas-based motorsports vehicle manufacturer Massimo Group is another company turning to Bitcoin as a treasury investment. On Monday, the company announced it will build a Bitcoin treasury to diversify its assets — a move that resulted in a 18% increase in the value of his share.

Meanwhile, MicroStrategy went in the other direction. The company, which owns the world’s largest Bitcoin treasury among publicly traded companies, said it was setting up a USD reversal, a move to address investor concerns about MicroStrategy’s exposure to Bitcoin.

Twenty-one capital, one of the largest Bitcoin treasuries in the world has finally gone public. The company entered the NYSE on Wednesday after a merger and immediately became the largest Bitcoin company on the New York Stock Exchange.

Formerly a company that opposed crypto trading, Forefront began allowing crypto ETF trading on its platform, marking one of the most significant shifts in the institutional mindset about crypto in history. Vanguard’s venture into cryptocurrency exposure was one of the biggest market moves of the week. As one of the most influential fund managers in the world, its entry meant mainstream validation

Regulatory moves of the week

A A Republican-led report from the House Financial Services Committee that criticized the way US regulators and banks treated crypto companies under the Biden administration.

In Britain, lawmakers are considering one complete ban on political crypto donations and concerns about possible foreign influence in the country’s democracy. Meanwhile, the Italian regulator has a hard term: crypto companies must apply for MiCA authorization from December 30, 2025 or close.

Back to the US, a major regulatory pivot at the SEC: Rule 13f‑2 (short-selling disclosure) is effectively dead, signaling the end of Gensler’s aggressive disclosure drive.

Finally the CFTC has launched the first listed crypto products on regulated US exchanges, giving investors an onshore alternative with established safeguards. This marks a crucial shift from offshore locations to a framework that aligns digital assets with traditional markets.

Macro in focus

The end of Quantitative tightening marks a potential shift in market liquidity, as the Fed will now stop actively reducing its balance sheet and allow maturing assets to stabilize rather than roll off.

On the verge of a new possible interest rate cut work market and inflation data reinforced the idea that the Fed will cut rates by 0.25% on December 10. And while markets are heavily pricing in another cut, rising rates are starting to show signs that this cronyism is heading towards a smooth turnaround. may not last long.

This week we also got further indications that former White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett could indeed become the next Fed chairman. With Jerome Powell’s term ending mid-year, Hassett is the leader second for the top job at the Federal Reserve.

Hassett is known for his aggressive stance on monetary policy, favoring deeper rate cuts and a faster turn toward easing. This position was enough to make bond investors feel uneasyarguing that his close ties to Trump could erode confidence in an independent central bank, and arguing that overly aggressive spending cuts could lead to stronger inflation.